npower volunteers returned to Greendown Community School with South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove to help over 260 pupils take part in npower's 'enthuse' day, for the third consecutive year.

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Npower volunteers have returned Greendown Community School, one of the first schools selected to pilot npower's 'enthuse' programme in 2007, the third consecutive year the event has taken place at the school.

During the recent two day educational experience over 260 Year 9 students participated in a range of interactive activities designed to help them think about the impact science and engineering has on their daily lives. South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove also visited the school to find out more about the programme.

Enthuse, which is part of npower's Brighter Futures Programme (http://www.npowerbrighterfutures.com/ ), is a five year scheme designed to inspire and engage students aged 12-14 years old in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

The students were encouraged to think of ways to improve existing products or design a completely new concept, before considering the very real problem of how we can meet and reduce the UK's future demand for energy. These activities were followed by a 'facts and fiction' session where the students were given the opportunity to meet with engineering staff from npower's Swindon offices. Throughout the day, the students took part in a series of hands-on activities relating to the power industry.

Gill Sarjent said: "The school is very proud to be involved with the 'enthuse' programme since day one and continued participation during the last few years. The students have been given an excellent insight into what it would feel like to be an engineer. Also, the opportunity to strengthen our relationships with staff from npower helps bring the activities to life and gives the students a great introduction into the world of work."

Anne Snelgrove MP commented: "It was fantastic to see the students having such a good time while they were learning. This scheme brings science and technology to life and makes it real."

Connor Wood, a year 9 student, added: "I think the whole day was good as I liked learning about different careers and I really liked all the "hands on" activities. My favourite workshop was 'Bright Ideas' as I liked designing a new product, which was completely different. I think we should run this event every day for year 9 students!"

In 2008 alone, npower 'enthuse' days reached out to over 3400 students across the UK.

About npower:
npower is one of the UK's largest electricity suppliers and draws on 50 years experience in supplying electricity and gas. npower offers a range of essential home and business services to 6.6 million customers across the UK.

RWE npower has been awarded the prestigious CommunityMark (http://www.npower.com/web/communitymark/index.htm ) from Business in the Community (BITC). npower is the only utility business, amongst 21 other companies in the UK, to receive this accolade. The CommunityMark is a new BITC standard which has been created to recognise companies that are good investors in local communities and who have brought about real and positive changes.

The aim of the npower Brighter Futures programme is to inspire young people from their first day at school to their first day at work. This is achieved by helping them to develop their skills and knowledge to make their own choices and empowering them to achieve their vision of a 'brighter future' for themselves and for the environment. npower Brighter Futures also includes our apprenticeship and graduate recruitment schemes.